Lifeline
by swkaioshin
Summary: A realistic approach to the main events of Sapphire/Ruby.  May realizes that there are major consequences to being a hero, both mentally and physically.  And through this, a hero and villain must rely on each other to survive the aftermath.
1. Part I

_Hello! This is actually an idea I came up with a very long time ago that I did not get around to somewhat completing until now. I personally have dabbled in the world of Pokemon gaming since the series first came out, and still enjoy every new game that is released. But my now adult mind began to wonder: you know, what would the world of Pokemon be like on more realistic terms? The main plots are always a bit silly: the small child hero defeats the villain, catches the big bad legendary beast, and life goes on with no consequences. No villains are arrested, no emotional turmoil is put on the main character, no nothing. It's just a child's giant play world where nothing goes wrong. But what if it wasn't? What if things weren't so happy and simple? What if it was more realistic?_

_In reality, there would be no children wandering around the world by themselves, even if they DID have monsters with them. With this idea in mind, May is at least 18, and has at least attended high school and has a good idea of how life works for the most part (more of this will be covered later on)._

_In reality, a crime syndicate would behave more like criminals, and would use more violence and tactics to get what they want. The police would also be high on their tails instead of letting children solve the world's problems._

_And most of all, there are consequences for everything that you do, whether you mean good or bad. In this story, May will learn that lesson, along with Maxie._

_I'm sure there will be many other 'reality factors' covered in here, but they'll come as they will._

_I also think it's so sad that the relationship between Maxie and May is so seldom used! There are actually a few very good ones on here that are highly overlooked. Going out there and exploring some rarely used characters is fun to write and interesting for the reader! _

_Unfortunately, I do lead a very busy life so updating will be very seldom, but it will happen. I promise._

_Happy reading!_

* * *

><p><em>"If you live with your eyes closed to whatever is difficult to face, does that mean those things don't exist?"<em>

-Polka, Eternal Sonata

* * *

><p><strong>Lifeline: Part I<strong>

They hadn't meant for this to happen. No, things were supposed to go different, completely different.

Admin Shelly couldn't hold back her own revulsion for what lied in front of her, what had happened. Their awakening of Kyogre had brought destruction instead of peace, and now she was facing the storm of the century, the downfall of Team Aqua.

Archie had promised a better world, a better place to live for all humans and Pokémon.

But Kygore was not willing to help them. No, it had shunned Team Aqua and the world, and now it wouldn't stop until it destroyed them all.

She grasped her leader's hand tightly, clenching his fingers between her own. He was shaking almost as hard as she was, and despite the situation, it calmed her to know they both felt the same. They were both scared, but who wasn't afraid of death?

"We tried, sir." She whispered at him.

"And I thank you, for everything." He looked over at her, managing a slight grin on his face, squeezing her hand gently.

She returned the favor.

Standing still and strong, the two faced the consequences together as the storm tore them down for the last time.

* * *

><p>Her lungs were on fire. She could not breathe, oh god she couldn't. There was water everywhere; in her mouth, in her throat, in her nose. Panicking, May's eyes flew wide open, the saltwater stinging her pupils. But this was no time to worry about pain. No, she didn't even flinch. She wanted to live; no, she wanted to <em>breathe.<em>

Kicking and flailing her arms and legs, she instinctively swam upwards, up towards the light. When she finally felt her head hit air, she gasped out a cry of relief, sputtering on water as she did.

The breath caught in her chest when she finally got herself calmed down and looked around. Oh god what a mess. What a _disaster._

The ocean was corrupt and wild, its waters tumbling about in a rapid torrent, bouncing about rubble and debris on its rocky surface. The sky was dark above her head, a gruesome angry gray with black curling clouds. Winds were blowing and whipping about rain around her wet head.

Her eyes picked up pieces of the Team Aqua submarine floating upon the sea's surface, and other floating objects that looked an awful like bodies bobbing up and down. Oh god, she hoped for someone to help her, to hold her hand now and tell her so much of this would be all right. Struggling to keep up, she swam over to the nearest one she could, grabbing it on the shoulders and shaking it. But she knew before she got there that he was dead; he had been floating face down, his gaze forever searching the ocean below.

May swam in a circle, urgently searching for some sort of life other than herself. But the water was rough, too rough to simply keep afloat. Even she could see that no one here was struggling as much as she was. The lives these bodies once held were long gone by now. If she wasn't in such fear, such pain for herself, she would have wept for them, cried for everything that they had left behind as they drifted away. But instead she spent those tears on herself, a lone figure alone amidst the ocean.

To her horror, a strong wave crashed down upon her, sending her body plummeting under the cold water. And again she frantically surfaced, choking, coughing violently, her eyes and nose burning. Perhaps she was the only one left, then. Perhaps she was the only one who had withstanded the ocean's wrath slapping against them and slapping all hope out of their hearts. She felt cold and alone, and scared out of her wit.

But why? Why all this? She figured the ocean was repulsed with these corpses, with such disruption in its boundary of nature, and she begged for its mercy. Kyogre was crying in the background, she could hear it far away. Such mocking pain…she wanted to cry too, to shed tears for such a pitiful creature in amidst this chaos. Did it not know she was simply a pawn in this dreadful game these people had played? She had been the beast's knight in shining armor this whole time, standing up for its peace and battling down its enemies. Her repayment was the same fate as all these blue uniformed men and women. And yet really, they were only following their beliefs, were only pawns themselves to their king. How ironic life was.

"Archie you fool!" She screeched in anger, even though she was aware no one was there, no one would hear her, and they were all dead. _I told you so, I told you so, I TOLD YOU SO!_

What selfishness was human nature that could bring about this? She wondered where he was now, perhaps lying at the bottom of the ocean with the rest of his team, his body cold and still. He deserved it, her mind cursed. He deserved every bit of it. A man, a simple individual man believing he could honestly control a beast who beckoned to control nature. And yet her heart still felt pity and sorrow, pity for such a fool and for a death that could have been avoided.

Another unsettling wail from her sent her tumbling down below with such force that her body struck into cold sharp metal. Her right leg screeched in such sharp pain that she screamed and screamed and yet the water just drowned her out.

Her strength dying, she made another desperate attempt to break surface, managing to get her head above water only for a few seconds before the stormy water hit upon her again and again until her limbs were numb and weak and fighting became so hard, so awfully hard. She just couldn't keep up with it anymore and her leg refused to kick.

May's mind was slipping away into unconsciousness as her lungs fought for another breath. Even though she was immersed in water, she could tell her vision was growing foggier and blurrier.

_No no no! _

She stretched out a hand towards the dimming light above her. If only she could reach and hold tight. But her leg, oh god the pain! The salt water was stinging and the crimson blood was floating all around her, and fighting was just so tiring...

The light above her grew father and farther away as the water cast her body down deeper and deeper. May had never been so frightened in her life, and yet she found she could no longer struggle. She was succumbing to the ocean's wrath under its firm beating. But was it so bad? After all, she was just so tired, and she just wanted to rest now…

_Oh god…I'm going to die, aren't I? _

A body, a nameless man dressed in Team Aqua uniform floated by her, a blank expression on his lifeless face. She silently wondered if that would be her soon, the currant pushing her around and around and she just limply dancing in the waves…

_I'm going to drown in the sea…_

And then suddenly there were hands yanking at the clothes on her back and fingers clenching into her arms, and she was being pulled upwards again. The air felt so good in her lungs it was almost painful.

She started at the male voice sputtering on water in her ear, breathing in as heavily as she was. But the arms around her were steady and comforting, and she felt herself relax into her rescuer's hold.

"Steady girl," It said calmly, trying to catch its breath.

"Oh god thank you." She sighed heavily, gripping the man's arm tightly and rubbing her face against his shoulder. "I thought…I thought I was going to die…"

"The worst is not over yet girl!" He said sharply, his tone laced with a growl. "This is no time to relax!" Something clicked in the back of her mind at the sound of his voice, so clipped and prissy. And it said 'beware' in bright bold colors.

There was a familiarity of the red and black pattern fabric covering the arm she had a hold of too, she realized with a sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach.

Oh God.

She turned hesitantly to face her savior. Water was thrashing about them angrily, whipping about red locks of hair on his face. His brown eyes were cold and calculating as they bore into hers. His thin lips had been set in a thin line.

"What?" He glared at her.

_Oh. god._

She let go of the man's arm in utter shock when she realized who he was. "M-M-Maxie!" She blurted out before her weight dropped back under again.

He didn't' say much at the comment, just bolted forwards to grab her shoulders before she almost slipped under again.

"Girl you have to pay attention!" Was that concern she saw deep in his eyes?

Her coughing was harsh this time, and she flinched back as she carelessly spit water in his face. But he said nothing, and simply lidded his dark eyes.

"Sorry." She mumbled bashfully, her cheeks burning. "I-I-I j-j-just-"

He gave a curt 'hmph,' a scowl plastered back across his face. "There's more to worry about right now then who we are and what we do and what we've done if you want to live! Do you understand?"

She nodded curtly at him, staring blankly. Of all such circumstances she could be in right now…

But May could only imagine what was going through the Magma leader's mind right now. Every bit of his plans was in ruins. His squad was…well, she tried hard not to note the undeniable red uniformed bodies dotting the ocean between the numerous Aqua members floating on their bellies around them, but she knew he'd seen. He was just as out of place here as she was. _Is you heart hammering as fast as mine, dear Maxie?_

"What do we do now?" She said with a shaky voice, her teeth chattering and her body shivering with cold.

"I'm going to get out us out here in the best manner possible." He said sternly and quietly. "Do you think you can move much?"

"A little." She grimaced. "I think I may have hit my leg onto something under the water, it hurts like hell."

"Then just hold tight."

"Thank you." A tired smile stretched across her face, but he didn't acknowledge it. She frowned at the worry lines creasing his forehead. He seemed so forlorn and lost.

"You alright?" Her politeness got the best of her.

He stopped then and there, glaring into her face. "That is none of your business, Miss Maple." His words were meant to be harsh, but May picked up on the lack of his speeches' normal intensity. She knew the real answer. His eyes were boring into hers with raised sharp eyebrows, but there was no mistaking the fear in his brown eyes, the same fear that was pulling at her own beating heart. They were in this boat together, to say the least. Without much more to say, she wrapped her arms around his neck in silent recognition, and he began to pull her away, away from all the chaos.

But like he said before, the worst wasn't over, it never was. Good things only last for a small time. Kyogre was dead set on making sure they understood that. They were not going to get away easy.

The winds were howling in their ears, and the water in turn began to grow even more dark and ominous. May squealed softly in his ear at the sight of lighting crackling in the distant sky, the clouds rumbling, and he felt his own heart begin to tighten at such pretenses.

A screech sounded, loud and painful. She turned her head around, keeping a firm grip on Maxie's neck. And then she saw it, a large blue creature in the distance, slapping about its fins in the water in a livid rage.

_Kyogre…_ It was a sad and mournful sight. This big beautiful creature wasn't meant to be disturbed for the mere selfish wishes of men.

Another big slap of the large Pokemon's fins brought curling waves towards them. But even Kyogre knew this was no longer a game, it was its own version of a sick and twisted joke.

May felt her eyes grow wide, her mouth wide open. Maxie became still, the color draining from his already pale complexion. "He's going to…to kill us all!" Maxie gasped against himself.

But May didn't hear him. So much water was rushing towards them…and dread was taking control of her.

"Maxie, I don't think I can take much more of this!" She shouted over at him, trying so hard to simply hang on to his stiff body. _I'm frightened; I'm scared, please, please save me_...

"Just, just hold on!" She heard him yell over the roar of everything. She was unsure if it was the storm brewing about them or if it was her pounding head. "Don't let go!"

Her head was swimming, her limbs felt like jello; but she wasn't about to give up completely, not now. She nodded silently, closing her eyes tightly and pressing her head against him.

She should be shocked, she knew, to be saved by her arch nemesis and all. She should be scowling at the way they are right now, she wrapped in his arms in the middle of the ocean like torn lovers, she broken and helpless, and he her guiding light. She should be laughing at him, how his perfect hair is tasseled about his face in tangles, crimson tendrils plastered against his taunt cheekbones. Always so prim and proper he is. She should be tormenting him for the fear apparent in his dark eyes.

But right now he is everything she has, and if she let's go now she loses everything.

Fear struck her heart again as the fateful wave crashed down on them, catching him off guard and causing his hold on her to lax. She caught a glimpse of flaming red hair bobbing beneath the waves before she too was pushed under again. Everything became a wild blur as she was spun about in a wild craze. In spite of all her courage she began thrashing her arms about wildly, searching for him as water filled up her lungs and throat. Then those hands were on her again, holding her up.

The valor she once mustered was fading fast, and his eyes softened every so slightly at the sight of her before they hardened again.

"Stop flailing about or we'll both go down!" He spat angrily at her, water splashing her face as he coughed harshly.

"But I don't want to die!" She choked back, tears forming in her eyes against all the wetness around them. Her heart was beating so hard in her chest she felt it might burst. She had never been so afraid in her life. She clung to him desperately, shoving her face into his neck. _Oh god, I just want my mom, my mom, and my house and oh god please…_"Please don't let me die please please please" She began mumbling incoherently at him.

His teeth were clenched hard, his eyebrows twisted. And yet he pulled her closer, yanked her hard against his chest until she could hear the thumping of his heart, fearful that she would slip away if he didn't.

"Damnit Kyogre!" He found himself screeching as loud as his lungs were capable. "It if wasn't for you and that miserable Archie this would all-"

He halted mid sentence, his eyes open wide and laced with terror. May curiously followed his glance with her own, inhaling sharply when she finally saw what had caught his attention:

A massive tidal wave was heading right towards them. Panic riddled her heart, and the tears became loose and falling.

"Maxie!" She sobbed, clinging so tightly to him that he almost couldn't breathe. He himself was baffled for words. _I don't want to die don't let me die please oh god oh god please._

This looked bad. He knew and she knew there was no escaping this one.

"Listen to me!" He was screaming now, almost more frantic than she. "Grab my hand and whatever happens don't let go, you hear me? _Do not let go_!"

She was scared, yes, but doubt pulled at her mind. This was the Team Magma leader for god's sake! "Why should I trust you!" Her mind blubbered out the words, even though her heart said she was a fool.

"Do you have any other choice?" And yet his eyes showed no hate, no loathing or that mechanical iciness that was Maxie. They were wide and frightened. And begging her, pleading…

That was all she needed to slip her fingers between his, and he was pulling her close to him as the wave smacked down upon them, sending them down, down, and around.

Then everything was black.

* * *

><p>The first thing she noticed was how quiet it was, how eerily still everything was. There was no roar in her ear, or hounding winds bellowing about her head. A gentle breeze was blowing softly on her face, gently wafting loose hairs on around her cheeks and tickling her nose. She inwardly grinned.<p>

_Was it…a dream…?_

Warm. She was so warm, and not so cold and wet anymore. She breathed in and out contently.

…_Miss…Maple…_

A voice was whispering in her ear, so familiar and yet…

_...wake…up…_

_Why must I wake up? _Her mind questioned. She was feeling so pleasant and calm, and it would be such a shame to have to leave now. But the voice was beckoning her from far away, and she found she could not resist its mysterious call.

…_please…_

May opened her eyes slowly. Everything was a blinding blur, and she had to squint to see the tall form looming over her in shades of crimson and grey. But it wasn't long before her groggy mind willed her to shut her eyes again. The daylight was too harsh for her sleeping senses, too bright and cruel. She was so tired and her mentality so weary, and everything would be so quiet and tranquil now if she just slept again...

"…Wake up, Miss Maple…" Hands were on her shoulders, shaking her gently.

She squeezed her eyes tight, moaning softly. One of her hands lifted up to brush away the unwanted touch. No, no, she did not want to wake up yet, not just yet. _I just want to rest…for a little longer…_

A hand weaved through her hair, stroking her head softly. She leaned into it like a lonely dog. _Someone…someone's here… _

May twitched her nose, her fingers digging into the ground beneath her. It was loose, and slipped through her out-stretched hand like running water. _Sand._ The smell of salty water wafted through her nose.

Then she became aware of how tight and cramped her body felt, like she'd been shoved into a tight cardboard box for days and days on end. The young girl stretched out her limbs, wincing when she felt a sharp pain throb up her right leg. And then her whole body found pain. Aches were running up her arms and her chest and her legs and just everywhere. _And reality comes back to bite me in the rear. _

Her mind has finally given up its fight, and she opens her eyes.

"Ah, and she awakes at last." She froze in her movements at the sight of a familiar red headed figure bending over her, a smirk gracing his lips. _Maxie._ Her eyes widened, and she quickly shoved his hands from her shoulders, causing her to fall back onto the sand not so gracefully.

"My, my, are we without gratitude today?" He snipped, the corners of his mouth twitching.

May chose to not answer that one.

"Such a headache…" She mumbled, lifting a hand to rub her temple. Her head was pounding something terrible.

"Considering the predicament we were in earlier, I would be happy you have nothing more than that."

May glared tiredly up at him. "Thanks for the pleasant awakening call. It really brightened up my day."

"Anytime."

She wasn't as surprised to see him as she had been earlier, but still, she couldn't hold back the amusement at his presence, and even the thankfulness that ran through her mind, though she was not about to voice it.

May let her head fall back on the sand, covering her eyes with her arm. The sun was glaringly bright, and her headache didn't appreciate it one bit.

"Do you know where we are?"

"A beach."

She had to roll her eyes at him. "In all seriousness."

"And in all seriousness I say we are on a beach, Miss Maple. I am not a goddamn GPS."

Her mind sought out another insult, but she found she was too tired to think and moved her arm to send him another menacing glare. He didn't flinch, didn't move a single muscle on his face, though she could swear she saw the corners of his mouth twitch upward slightly again.

A beach no less, go figure they'd end up on a beach. The sun was blaring hot, the water was lapping at their feet, and she had forgotten her swimsuit.

"You think we're the only survivors?" She probed at him. The red headed man didn't answer her at first, instead casting his gaze out to the sea, scanning the ocean's horizon.

"I don't even want to think about it right now." He said calmly, standing up. His eyes looked tired, she mused, worn out. There was a five o'clock shadow lining his jaw, his prim and proper attire was ragged, a hole had formed in his gray slacks on his right knee.

She was sure she couldn't say anything great about her appearance either. Her hair was damp and matted beneath her fingers, and crusty with salt water. Much of her clothing was torn. Her bandana was gone; she could have figured that, probably lost out at sea somewhere, along with much of her traveling things and backpack. Yet her shoes, those expensive running shoes she just had to have, were still on her feet. May couldn't help but chuckle under her breath despite it all.

And that's when it hit her, when she realized that something was missing amidst all this chaos, something important…

Her hand instinctively flies to the belt around her waist, and a sudden panic descends her face.

"What is it, girl?" Maxie jests at her, but that was before he turned and saw the distraught in her eyes. The color drains from his face and he looks away quickly, as if he was expecting her sudden reaction.

"Maxie…" She whispers hoarsely. Her fingers won't stop looking. They've found nothing; nothing but torn and saltwater-crusted jeans, empty pockets, and a broken poketech. "Where are my Pokémon?" May questions, as if she didn't know the formidable answer already.

He doesn't answer at first. His mouth opens and closes several times, and yet nothing comes out. How long she has wished to be the one to take the words out of the Team Magma leader's mouth with her daring stance. But this is just all the wrong context. "Gone, Miss Maple." There is no sarcastic drawl, no damn disgust in his voice, and oh how she wishes there was.

Tears are threatening to let loose; it's almost unbearable to hold them back.

"What's the chance that they got out of their poke balls?"

"One in a million, Miss Maple. You knew what it was like out there. Pokeballs don't float; they'd be at the bottom of the ocean as soon as they got dislodged from us. Even if they managed to escape, they would have been crushed under all that water."

"No no no no no…" May whimpered. She brought her hands to her head, winding her fingers tightly through her hair. Her bottom lip began to quiver and tremor. It could not be true, it just _could not._

"Miss Maple…" He tried setting a hand on her shoulder, but she immediately shoved it off. Her body was wracking with painful sobs.

She'd spent the past year with her Pokémon, training them, encouraging them, caring for them. And they'd taken care of her in return with the utmost respect. _I've failed you, and you never failed me._

"You wretched girl! Don't look at me like that! My pockets are as empty as yours!"

But she had stopped listening, couldn't even see his face under her blurry tears. A thousand thoughts were going through her mind. Were they lying on the bottom of the ocean, wondering when their beloved trainer would save them? Oh god, what if Pikachu had gotten out of his ball…what if he suffered-

A loud smack sounded, and she felt her cheek tingle before bursting into pain. "Girl, you must stay with me!"

Everything stopped, then; everything was silent. May brought a hand up to her stinging face. She stared intently at his face, not knowing what she should feel, what emotion she should express. Maxie's eyes were hard and stoic as they bore into hers.

"I'm sorry, Miss Maple, but right now, you will do nothing more than to hurt yourself by acting this way. This whole thing is one big tragedy after tragedy wound in and out of each other. But you came out of it, with both shoes on your feet."

She breathes in shakily, feeling the tightness in her chest. The thrashing the ocean gave her has done a lot to her mind, and a lot more to her body. Her arms are heavy and limp, her throat is sore, her eyes burn, and her lungs withstand what they can. There are probably bruises lining her skin under her torn clothes. But she is alive, and that is what's really important. She nods silently; he is right.

"I'm sorry." She whispered, bringing a hand to her forehead. "It's just…I cannot…believe…"

But he put up a hand and motioned for her stop and nodded. She took this as a sign he understood already. After all, she came to realize that his Pokémon most likely met the same fate as her own. And he had probably known them for much longer than she had known her own…more sadness pulls at her heart, but she manages to hold back more tears. This is emotional for him too.

Maxie turns his back towards her, clasping his hands together in front of him and walking out closer to the shoreline. The water laps at his shoes, but they are already ruined as it is. She takes to watching his crimson hair float around his head in the slight whispering of a breeze.

Oh God how much she wanted to reverse this day, to take all that heroic stuff back. She could have easily just wandered on to the next gym, the next town, the next country…oh things would have been so much better.

Maxie sighed heavily. "We need to get off this beach and to civilization soon, for your sake." He states after a few moments, turning back to her.

"What? For my sake?" She gaped at him.

"Um, yes." His eyes dart up and down her body, and May cannot help but feel the need to cover her body with her arms.

"Since when did we start caring about my welfare?"

He smirked, falling on his knees and grabbing a hold of her torn pant leg. "Have you forgotten your earlier complaint out in the water, Miss Maple?"

"Whoa whoa hold it there a minute mister!" May slapped at his hands, attempting to scoot away backwards on her haunches, but doing so caused her leg to shoot up in pain and she gasped horribly. "Oh, right…"

"Hmph." Without another look, he approached her quickly again and dropped to his knees. She said nothing as his hands began to pull up her pant leg again, just brought a hand up to brush a tear away from the corner of her eye. "I would think, Miss Maple, at this point in time you would do better to listen, even though I've acquired that you are incredibly defiant." May flinched at every tear of her pant leg in his hands. May rolled her eyes. They'd be back to their old game of pick and prod in no time.

"I'm sorry that I'm so defiant against someone who tried to 'do away with me' on many occasions."

"Insults are empty threats. And as I remember, I don't recall actually acting out on any of them."

The tearing stopped, and he winced, gritting his teeth. She, on the other hand, was afraid to look.

She stifled a yell of surprise with her hand over her mouth as he slid up her torn pant leg. A large gash ran up her calf, bright and red, throbbing with pain. Tears wanted to well up in her eyes, but she held them back. _Things could have been worse, May, much worse._

Without a word, Maxie pulled off his dirtied Magma coat, tossing it on the ground, and pulling off a dark long sleeve shirt, leaving him in nothing but a white undershirt. May felt her cheeks heat slightly; he was still fully clothed, but she had never seen the man in anything more than a heavy uniform. He took the dark shirt in his hands, ripping it up into shreds and tightly bounding them around her wounded calf.

"Should hold you up for now, but that's going to need some stitches." He mumbled, pulling the knots tight. "And all that sea water and all that sand and god knows what else is in that stinking dreadful water…"

May was speechless.

"What are you gawking at?"

"Why?"

He raised a delicate red eyebrow. "Why what?"

"Helping me and all. Why?"

"Innocence, Miss Maple. It is not in my nature to ruin the innocent, and _you _are _innocent_." He picked up the rest of the torn shirt, bounding more around her leg.

Her mind blinked back to a few days ago, those long treacherous hours she spent rummaging through the Magma base, ripping apart his lair and taking down his members one by one, with her now lost Pokémon. And then after demanding his cooperation, she proceeded with half his men to the Aqua Base and committed the same acts, although with so much more force. Archie did not see her views the same way; he was reluctant to stand down. A thought nagged at the back of her mind; if she had only been more forceful…but no, she could no longer prevent anything. She was not so innocent. Perhaps she was not guilty of any proper crime; she tore down a crime syndicate for god's sake! But she shook those people's souls with her battling and her spirit, and she witnessed the wrath of those peoples' actions. She was no longer an innocent.

"You could have let me _drown_ in the ocean." She said calmly.

Maxie's eye twitched.

"And I did not, did I? Drop it."

May was picturing his face in his office on that formidable day, his grunts lying on the floor battered and bruised, the Admin standing beside his leader with a torn lip and a black eye. Hoarse voices whispered in her ears.

"_I'm sorry, sir. This girl, she tore down our defenses, and there was nothing I could do." _

_The man flinched at the snarl of her Pokémon posed beside her. May grinned and laid a hand upon its head._

"_What do you want from me?" Maxie declared, unflinching. He had his hands folded neatly on top of the desk._

"_Peace." May spoke with the tones of a superhero, with her foot upon the villain. The crowd cheered only in her own ears. "I want an end to all this chaotic stuff. Leave Kyogre well alone." _

"_Persuade me." The red headed man's lips began to curl. An equally as devilish smirk came across May's own lips, her hand reaching for a poke ball from her pack._

_The battle was intense, but Maxie's Pokemon stood no chance again May's team, and the great Magma leader helplessly watched his mighty Pokémon fall beneath May's. He pulled out his last Poke ball. He fingered it lovingly in its hand, giving it a sorrowful look, as if he almost cared about the beast inside._

_May offered him another smirk. "Is the big leader man feeling a bit light hearted? Tell you what, I'll give you a chance to give in, Maxie. Spare your Pokémon. We could just end this all now-"_

"_Forget it you stupid, meddlesome girl! You don't even know half of what you are getting into! I do this for you, to keep you out of this dangerous business. It is no place for a child!"_

"_Child?" Scoffed May. "Would a child stand up to the most powerful men in the world for the greater good of the world?"_

"_A foolish, stupid child would." He glared at her coldly. _

_That was enough for May to emit a soft growl before she threw another Poke ball, and he sent out his Mightyhena. He gave the creature an apologetic expression, which May tried hard to pretend not to see. She watched gleefully as her Pokémon forcefully pounded his Mightyena into the ground over and over again. The agitation and the anger that crossed Maxie's face every time her Pokémon threw a hard hit against his was enough for her to declare her victory, and she called her Pokémon back._

_Maxie fell to his knees In front of his injured Mightyena, cupping the creature's face in his hands gently. "Thank you, old friend. You've done well." He mumbled, and the creature's eyes almost seemed to light up at his words despite its current condition. _

_May felt her confidence drop at his unexpected softness and compassion for his Pokémon. Guilt, and pity, swept through her heart, and she almost felt sorry for destroying the man before for her. But no, she was a hero and he was a villain, she reminded herself, and she shook away any feelings of sympathy she had formed for him with a slight shake of her head. _

"_Well, what do you have to say now, Maxie?" She said, hands on her hips. _

_Maxie's eyes flicked up to hers, his face unreadable._

"_What do you want from me, Miss Maple?"_

_May took a deep breath. She was here, she finally got here, the villain at her feet and she standing valiantly above. And suddenly she didn't know what to do. She never thought she would get this far._

"_I don't know exactly." She stated. Though her heart was not feeling as jumpy as it should. _

"_Great." He scoffed._

_She offered him a hand, and he blinked confusingly at her outstretched palm. "Help me Maxie." She stated, feeling more like an adult than she ever had before. "I know you haven't the cruelest heart in the world- I've seen the way you treat your own Pokemon."_

"_And what do you expect me to do, Miss May, hmm? Why do you think I would think to care so much about Archie and his stupid plans?"_

"_Because you let Groudon go."_

"_We were wrong, and we never should have disturbed Groudon." _

"_Then redeem yourself. Kyogre is suffering, just as your pokemon are now. Help me to save that Pokemon, and stop Archie."_

_Maxie returned his Mightyhena to its Pokeball. He grabbed a hold of her hand and let her pull him up off the floor. He gave her one of his notorious smirks. "Do you have a plan, Miss Maple, or do I have to come up with that too?"_

"You could have let me _drown_ in the ocean." She said calmly.

Maxie's eye twitched.

"And I did not, did I? Drop it."

"You could still leave me here, you know, I wouldn't survive more than a few days with this leg.

"No. I told you I would get you out of this, and, obviously we're not. That is, unless, you wish to stay here." He replied smuggly.

"I ruined your life's work."

He gave a deep annoyed sigh. "You caused me such pains and headaches, Miss Maple, but I would never have truly laid a finger on you. You are nothing but a little girl with a big ego, trying to save the world from 'danger.'"

"I am no little girl."

He scoffed. "Perhaps not physically, Miss Maple."

"Then if I am such a little girl, you are nothing more than a little boy who got too caught up playing with his big boy toys to listen to his mother, and look what happened."

"And you would blame me for all this?" A fire began to burn in his eyes, deep dark coals. Their intensity singed her very being, and she felt herself sink timidly back into the sand. "You would dare to think that I would intentionally cause such destruction and chaos? You have both shoes on your feet and you came out with your life. Not everyone was so fortunate. My Pokémon…My team…Archie…you think I really wanted this ending?"

Somewhere in the back of her mind was the image of Archie, his blue bandana floating up and off his head in the waves, his face lifeless and blank. All those bodies and death…that heavy sad feeling entered her heart again.

Her hands were buried deep in Team Magma now. She had pummeled his plans and bashed his pride in with her own bare fists, and in turn had raged such a weary anger in his eyes that it gave her nightmares at night. And now their brilliant leader was standing before her with his arms bruised and his lip cut open and his eyes drooping with fatigue, because of her.

They were both too tired to fight now.

And on a sudden impulse, May darted forward and wound her arms around him and pressed her cheek against his chest in an odd hug that even surprised herself. Maxie was rigid under her, frozen in place and yet his heart hammered away in his chest under her ear. "Thank you anyways, despite all that crap and stuff, you son of a bitch."

After a few seconds, May pulled back, and he sat there staring back at her with unusual wide eyes. She swore for a few seconds she saw a strange softness, a hint of compassion, in those deep brown irises. And then it was gone and those eyes were slanting back to the normal scowl that lines his face.

"Where will we go?" She questions softly.

"The forest." He jerks his head in the direction behind him.

A dense forest lay beyond them, thick and dark even in the daylight. It's funny how through all this talking and yelling and such, she didn't even notice its presence.

"Do you know where it'll go?"

"Do _you_?" He mocks, but there is no anger in his eyes.

A breeze sounds over them, rustling the trees up towards the land and her torn clothes shake quietly over her skin. The breeze brings nothing but warm air on the little beach, but she shivers under it anyways. He stood up again, glancing back at the forest behind them before offering his hand out to her.

"Come on now, girl, we must get moving before dark." He said softly, looking out at the horizon. He turned to her, offering his hand.

May hesitated briefly before placing her hand in his, and he quickly yanked her to her feet. There was immense pain in her leg as she stepped down on it for the first time, but she grit her teeth. She could deal with it.

"Thank you." She breathed again, and still he said nothing, with that far off vacant look in his eyes. They weren't friends, no. You couldn't call them that. But they weren't enemies either, never were. _ I owe him everything right now…_

May wrapped her arm around his waist, leaning her weight on him best she could and they walked off towards the forest.


	2. Part II

_A year later and I have finally updated this! Honestly, it took me the whole year just to write this, due to many things, such as graduating college, preparing a piano audition for grad school, work, life...but every few days I opened this up and gave it some thought and finally I think it makes sense. It again may take a long time update this again, but I assure you i will come through._

_All lyrics listed are from Coldplay's song "Paradise." I have never been a big fan of reading inserted quotes from song lyrics on fanfictions, because most of the time I don't know the context of the song and it doesn't make too much sense to me as the reader. But this I felt fit so beautifully in this story, especially for this chapter._

* * *

><p><em>When she was just a girl<em>  
><em>She expected the world<em>  
><em>But it flew away from her reach<em>  
><em>And the bullets catch in her teeth<em>

* * *

><p>They couldn't have been walking more than a few hours, an easy feat for her normally well-traveled feet. But with her sore leg stiffening from pain and her stomach rumbling from hunger, it felt more like an eternity.<p>

Her great savior had managed to unlink himself from her side not long after they had entered the forest, and was paces in front of her. Maxie never let pain slip over his face, and she was determined not to as well, even if it meant holding her own and gritting her teeth.

_I don't need him to help me. He's done too much as it is, I can do this myself._

Unfortunately, she was not as good at hiding it as he was.

It was growing dark now, and the light from the sun that managed to peer through the dense tree branches above them was starting to dim, casting a shadow that slowly grew darker over the stretch of minutes, making it more difficult for May to see the ground below her feet. Regardless of how hard she tried, her right foot stumbled into anything that procured itself out of the ground; stones, branches, dips in the ground; sending a jolt of pain up her leg and a grimace across her face that was becoming more and more difficult to hide.

"Miss Maple, you are lagging behind." Maxie had finally stopped ahead of her, a scowl on his face.

"And you are going too fast." She sent him a glare, hobbling up to him. "I'm crippled, remember?"

He took her by surprise by putting his hands on either side of her face, staring at her inquisitively.

"Er…what are you doing?"

"Are you feeling ok, Miss Maple? Your face is rather pale."

She jerked back, pulling her face away from his hands, and starting to mouth out the words "I'm perfectly fine." But her sudden step she took backward caused her leg to flare in pain, and the breath to rush from her lungs. Maxie jumped forward and grabbed a hold of her shoulders before she lost her balance completely and fell.

May felt her face burn red as Maxie's eyes bore into hers angrily.

"Idiotic girl. You have to know your limitations!"

"Sorry." She spoke more to the ground than to him.

"Never mind it." He mumbled. He let go of her shoulders, and began to pace, his hands neatly clasped behind his back and his head bent.

"We're going to stay here, until morning."

May blinked. "Morning? You want to stay out here all night? You have no idea where we are! You have no idea what could be out here! "

"No, I don't! But, tell me, Miss Maple, do you have a better idea? "

"Well…well no! But I'm _telling_ you, we have no idea what kind of Pokémon are in these woods! The faster we get out of here the better!"

"Do you think I'm not fully aware of that? This is a risk we have to take. I'm positive you have plenty of experience sleeping out in the-"

"A risk? A _risk?_ I've put my life through enough _risks_ for one day! When does it stop, huh? When do I get to put my foot down and say enough?"

"Do _not_ start this with me, Miss Maple. I will not deal with the attitude of an ignorant, tired child, who is unaware of-"

"Ignorant child! I am not an ignorant child-"

"ENOUGH." He spat, and May bit her lip hard. "I _will not_ put up with this. Right now, the only thing that matters is our survival, right here, right now. Your leg is not going to make it through the night unless you rest it. And you're a goddamn Pokemon trainer! I've seen you flash those forsaken badges of yours around. You're a worn traveler, you've hiked through caves, and valleys, and stretches of land on foot that would take hours in a car to cross. Do _not_ try to tell me you have no experience sleeping out in the wilderness, because if you do, you're a goddamn liar."

"Yeah, well you know what? All those times I did, I had my Pokemon with me and-" May felt her breath suddenly hitch, and she stopped.

The two stood there, staring each other down, breathless, not a word passing. She waited for a snark comment from him, but it never came.

"It will grow too dark to see soon, and I cannot let you stumble around here with that leg in unknown territory. I also think a bit of rest will help clear your head." And with that he turned his back to her and began walking away.

May felt her eyes prick and burn with tears.

_He's only trying to help you, and you just can't get it in you to trust him. Who's the bad guy now?_

"I'm sorry." She breathed.

"Wait here while I get some wood for a fire," was his answer.

* * *

><p>Night had come and wrapped itself around them, the trees creaking and beckoning to them under the darkness.<p>

Neither had said much for a while, lost in their own thoughts. Maxie sat across from her, his back against a tree, his face intently staring into the flames of the fire. May watched the branches above shake with the slight nighttime breeze, uncovering and covering her view of a silvery moon above. It reminded her of evenings that seemed so long ago now, when she sat in front of a similar fire, surrounded by her six Pokémon. Those nights were always full of warmth. Pokémon laughing and smiling with her, sharing her dinner and falling asleep wrapped her. She always felt so safe, so loved. But now, she was surrounded by an eerie, lonely silence- they hadn't heard much of a Pokémon all day, and now was the same. No scampering across the brush, no silent calls. No nothing. A dead still night, with a fire crackling before them, echoing through the forest, and nothing but a few berries in her belly and a cold man she barely knew for company. May shivered and wrapped her arms tight around her aching body, silently compelling her eyes to stop watering.

She didn't notice Maxie get up and move until he was standing beside her. "Here." It took May a few seconds to comprehend what the object was that Maxie was dangling in front of her. She soon realized it was his Magma coat with its charcoal and crimson colors.

"Oh, no, I can't take that from you." she was remorseful about leaving him to bear the night in nothing but a dirtied white undershirt. He didn't look right, exposed and without his colors._ I took everything from you; I can't take anything else._

"I didn't ask you if you wanted to." She still didn't budge; so he tossed it at her instead, and retreated back to his side of the fire.

"Thanks." She silently pondered on how many times she had said that to him today. The coat was huge on her, the sleeves falling past her hands, but with a quick zip of the zipper she was buried in warmth, like being wrapped in a warm blanket.

"Hmph." Was all he said, and he returned to his silent observation of the fire.

But May couldn't bear the silence anymore, not like this. Her Pokémon could never speak true words, but they had always comforted her with their low grumbling sounds, their squeals, the warmth of their bodies, anything they could. She found herself glancing over at Maxie over and over again, imagining his lips moving, wishing he would talk, would say something, would say _anything_. She didn't want to feel so alone.

"Where do you think all the Pokemon have gone?"

He looked up at her briefly before averting his eyes back to the fire. "I don't know. It is strange that they've seemingly vanished from the area."

"You think…you think maybe they were all scared away?"

"Scared away? By what?"

"The storm. Kyogre." _The very thing we've avoided talking about this whole time, but I both know what we're thinking, we both know._

"I doubt that. I cannot fathom that any of that business would have an affect on the wildlife miles from the coast, especially considering that the beach we landed on was foreign to us, along with this forest. Who knows how far we drifted off after that massive tidal wave. Perhaps we are in a less-inhabited area due to natural causes. Perhaps the resources here are lacking, and cannot support life beyond the trees."

"Yeah, I guess so." She searched her mind, thinking of every geography book of the Hoenn region she had ever gotten her hands on, whether it was in school or on her own traveling time. But nothing came to mind, not a single large forest so secluded of pokemon…but she didn't have the will power, or strength, to argue about anything.

And that brought her back to her thoughts of Pokémon, her thoughts on travel, her spectacular journey, the very thing she spent her entire childhood mentally preparing herself for. She'd spent her school days with her face in books, anything about Pokemon. Books on type advantages, weaknesses, attacks, down to planning out her perfect team. A dream team. They'd beat them all to the ground with the power of their love and friendship and-

_The dreams- no, the fantasies, of an innocent child._

Was all that destroyed now? She left her home with all her hopes and dreams on her shoulders, entrusted bits and pieces of them to her Pokémon as she caught and raised each one of them into beautiful formidable creatures, confronted Maxie with them carefully cradled in her hands, and presented them fully in a moment of sacrifice, as proof of her utmost determination and sure victory, as she stood before Archie in an attempt to break him down. And then Kyogre took them all away, swept them away and sunk them to the bottom of the ocean where they forever lay out of her reach.

The tears that threatened to let loose finally came, pouring silently down her face, and she didn't stop them. She pressed the long sleeves of the magma coat on top of her lips and let the fabric soak up her tears. It smelled strongly of salt water, and, she imagined, the tears of so many others who gave up more than just their ambitions. She imagined the whole ocean to be full of them, now.

Her fingertips brushed over the magma emblem sewn so perfectly into the left side of Maxie's magma coat. It rested over her heart, and she pressed her hand into it, feeling it beat underneath. Unconsciously, a fingernail began to dig at its stitched edges.

"Why." She was thinking the word so hard, she didn't even realize she said it until she saw Maxie's head snap up and his eyes look at her inquisitively.

"Why what?" he asked with a cock of his head, and she watched as his eyes traveled down her tear stained cheeks lit up by the fire, but he said nothing about them.

May sighed nervously. "Why did all this happen huh? I can't blame a single soul, because all of this was caused by many people, by cause and effect, by one thing tumbling down after another. Something this big had to be supported by many, and it couldn't have fallen down by few weak souls that gave way and collapsed. But _why?_"

Maxie's eyes grew wide, in a familiar glance like that out in the water that felt like days and days ago now, not yesterday. Fear, panic, distress…

And then they bore into hers intently, his dark eyes smoldering into hers, and his voice stern and strong.

"This world could be changed in a heart beat if we wanted it to. We could change it, make it better. The only question is, _was,_ is _how_, not _why_. And I, _we_, just thought that, just thought that, that if we…" he trailed off, and his eyes grew dull and soft, as if a light had suddenly blown out, and his head bowed down. "What did we think? I can't even remember anymore." He gripped his temples gently with his hands. "Can't remember anything plausible, even after all those years of research and dedication, and carefully arranged plans. All I can see, all I can hear is, is-" He broke off, and she could see his shoulders rise and fall heavily and the fire reflecting off his wide, glassy pupils.

But May didn't need to hear more. She could hear them, too, screaming for mercy in her numb ears.

_Archie grinned at the sight of the great beast before him, the blue orb glowing in his hands. Shelly beamed beside him. A set of perverse monarchs perched on top of their submarine throne._

_"Kyogre! I am Archie, your master, and you will do as I say!"_

_May gritted her teeth. "Look you piece of trash, you need to quit it right now!"_

_The grunts holding her arms snickered, gripping her skin hard and twisting it between their hands. May cried out in pain. _

_Maxie started beside her. "Archie, you must listen to her, you fool! You must stop this at once! You will never be able to tame that beast, it is a creature of nature and should be left as so before the world is disrupted!""_

_A grunt jutted his elbow into Maxie's stomach, causing him to double over. "Shut up, old man." He laughed with a sneer._

_"Leave him alone!" May shouted, trying to pull away from her restrainers, but they just pulled and twisted her arms harder until she could feel their fingertips pressing bruises into her skin._

_Archie shook his head, tsking with a grin. "Have you become soft-hearted Maxie? I didn't think someone like you would bend down to a pansy so easily." _

_Maxie glared up at him, a fire glinting in his eyes, and his words between his teeth and his labored breaths. "You bastard, have you no self control, nor logic nor reason?"_

_"You're just jealous, Maxie! Jealous of all this power!" Archie held the orb high above his head. His eyes were glittering with malice. "You had your chance, and you turned it down like a fool. If only you had-"_

_There was a roar of thunder and a great screech before a loan wave hurled up from the ocean, and tore through his army of grunts, knocking several over and hurling one into the air and slamming him against the sides of the cliffs they stood on, his bones cracking and his skin tearing, and his blood was just everywhere. The grunts released their hold on her arms in shock, but May was frozen to the spot, watching the blood dribble through the grunt's hair from a massive gash in the back of his skull and seep into the ground where he now lay face down. _

_A blood-curdling scream sounded from the crowd of motionless Aqua grunts, and a young female pushed her way through them wildly, bolting towards the dead grunt and throwing herself on top of him. "No, no, no no no no!" She cried, before burying her head into his bloodied back and sobbing uncontrollably._

_No one moved towards her, no one said a word._

_Kyogre screeched again, the sound echoing loudly off the cliffs and consuming the strained silence. The sky above the ocean grew dark, and the ocean murky and angry. A deep wind began to whip at them, and some of the grunts finally lifted their arms to shield their eyes from the debris and water it stirred up at them._

_Another sound of thunder crashed hard over their heads, and a streak of lighting lit up the sky, illuminating the terrified wide-eyed faces of team aqua and team magma. _

_And then there was the rushing sound of water. Massive amounts of water. Coming towards them all in sharp waves at an unbelievable speed. _

_She heard Maxie utter a hushed, "run," under his breath, his eyes unblinking, before he gained back his momentum and shouted, "RUN."_

_And after that there was nothing but chaos. The well- organized crime syndicates crumbled in a matter a seconds, in a mass moment of fear. Mass amounts of red and blue blurs ran around and around her at a dizzying speed, trying to escape the doom of the sea. But it was too late for most of them. They were grabbed by the waves, screaming as they were swept away and dragged under the raging ocean, or pounded into the rocky cliffs. Their abandoned Pokémon had no lesser fate. They watched on helplessly until, they too were dragged away shrieking. Some of the creatures foolishly jumped into the ocean after their trainers in a vain attempt of rescue. _

_The Aqua submarine began to rock violently. Shelly lost her footing and fell against her leader, gripping his arm to hold herself up. Archie waved his arms frantically at the beast as he tried to keep his balance, his sun-kissed skin drained pale and sickly. _

_"Kyogre! I demand that you stop!" _

"There is no solution to a problem that doesn't exist, Maxie." An opening big enough for her finger opened up on one side of the emblem, and she yanked on it, feeling the sewing give way slowly.

She watched him grin, maybe even sneer, but his eyes did not follow suit, did not betray his true feelings. "Nothing else matters now."

"Did it ever?"

He lifted his head towards her, raising a delicate red eyebrow in a silent question.

She smiles slightly. "Nothing else ever matters. We're all here, living and breathing this air, sharing this land and its sea. Why should anything else matter than that?"

"Questions, my dear." He folds his arms across his chest. "There are so many questions about this world that are just begging to be resolved…"

"Then why not just leave those questions unanswered?" A crease formed between her eyebrows. "They aren't problems; they're just questions. I have so many questions about life, too. But you know, you can't always get answers. Sometimes you just gotta live with what you have and make the best of it."

He nodded. "This is true, Miss Maple. But you are still just a child. You don't know this world yet, you haven't seen much of it, and you haven't seen its problems, even if you have witnessed some." It was a prompt; an answer a parent concocts for a child when they don't really know the answer.

_"Mommy, what were those people doing in the elevator? Why did you yell at them? You kiss Daddy all the time, and I see you kiss Daddy, too. How come they can't kiss in front of me, too? Don't they love each other, too? Like you love Daddy, Mommy?"_

_"Mommy and Daddy will tell you when you're older, May. You'll understand when you're older…_

"Child…" She sighed softly. "I was a child before this. But now I've seen what the people of this world can become capable of. Your organization has shown me that, and now that child in me has died with that reality."

He frowned. "My, organization…"

She chuckled softly to herself. "Child. You know, I'm almost twenty-one now, and people still can't believe it; tell me I look young, tell me I look like a high-schooler. Something I no longer wanted to be- well at least I used to not want to be. I remember when I was excited for eighteen; I wanted people to see me as an adult and not as some silly 'child.'"

"Well, Miss Maple, every adolescent in this world wishes to feel as if they're important. I am assuming you were no different than the mass population."

"Yeah. How foolish I was." She frowned. "But now I feel, no, I _know, _what it feels like to be an adult now, and I can only wish I could go back to being that innocent child that I was."

Maxie just looked at her, his mouth opening and closing slightly and his lips darting out to wet them. She couldn't read his expression, but she knew he had more he wanted to say. And she also knew he wouldn't say a word.

"You should rest." He'd never say he was sorry, she didn't expect him to. But she knew that's what he meant.

And suddenly, she stood, ignoring the pain in her leg, staring at the magma emblem now in her hand, the crimson red stitching hanging crudely around it in crooked strands. May held the emblem over the fire, pausing slightly to look at Maxie's face, searching for a sign of protest that she couldn't find, before dropping it in. The two watched it burn into a black mass before it disappeared completely into the flames.

"Miss Maple?"

She didn't answer, just tugged his giant Magma coat tighter around her body, walked over to him, and sat down, curling into his side and resting her head on his arm. She felt every muscle in his arm grow tense and stiff beneath her head

"Miss Maple, this is highly inappropriate." There was an edge of panic in his voice.

May just closed her eyes, feeling the world become hazy. "This whole damn situation is. Get over it and let me keep you warm." _I don't want to be alone. Don't let me be alone_

He didn't argue with her, just shifted awkwardly beside her and grew still.

That small amount of contact to another living creature, no matter how slight it was, no matter how unaffectionate it was, brought warmth to her cold heart, and strange emotions to spark through her. A bitter loneliness sunk in, and she felt herself overcome with grief. _I'm not alone, but I've never felt so damn lonely. _

"I wish my Pokémon were here." More tears dripped down her face, running down her chin and on to Maxie's arm.

"Miss Maple." He spoke softly.

"I'm sorry," she whimpered. "I'll stop, I promise I will. I will stop and leave you alone." _I feel so small and lost beside you, so weak and pathetic, and you are so strong and powerful, nothing compared to me, nothing, and you, and you-_

Suddenly there was a hand on her chin gently lifting her face up, and she found herself staring into a pair of watery brown eyes, dark and somber. "I miss them too, Miss Maple." He said, biting his lip, and finally a single held-back single tear escaped and fell down his cheek

For a moment, everything pauses, and she forgets to breathe.

May's eyes widen, and she finds herself involuntarily chewing the inside of her own cheeks, trying hard to hold back an emotion that threatens to spill out and take over and throw her down against his feet. But her lip keeps trembling and she can't hold it down. Her tears drip down like a leaky faucet, uncontrolled.

The arm she rested on moved sharply, and to her surprise, came down the back of her head and around her shoulders and pulled her tightly to Maxie's chest. The realization of what he was doing made her shudder and she sobbed hard, her shoulders shaking and her fingers curling into his white undershirt.

He let her cry until her eyes burned and exhaustion wouldn't let her keep them open anymore.

_It's hard to breathe. So damn hard to breathe, when reality falls, and everything you know turns itself inside out and upside down and you can't seem to even remember who you are yourself_

"I'm sorry," Were the last words she remembered him saying before everything grew dark.

* * *

><p>The next day when he woke, Maxie found May blubbering like a fish, and for a fearful moment, he thought they were drowning in the ocean again. His chest began to tighten painfully and his breathing hard.<p>

"My leg," she gasped; her pant leg was completely soaked in blood. "It hurts…so bad…"

He bundled her up further in his Magma coat and hoisted her up in his arms, and began to walk, sprint, _run,_ anywhere, _anywhere,_ as fast as he could.

"Why are you saving me again…after all I took away from you…" She mumbled into his shoulder.

"There isn't an answer for everything."

* * *

><p>Reality was beginning to disappear. She knew she was here, she knew she lived and she breathed, she knew she was in immense pain, but there was nothing else. The world turned into colors, like a white canvas brushed over with paint in large colored strokes that changed every time she opened and closed her eyes.<p>

And suddenly everything turned from dark greens and browns to a blinding bright white, and her deadened vision brought slight images to her slipping mind of white pristine walls and figures in white jackets spinning around and around. Voices spoke to her, voices everywhere, words on top of words that she couldn't understand stuffed down her ears. She felt herself trying to drift up and away from consciousness, to escape, but Maxie's arms kept her rooted in place. She sunk back into them and turned her face away into his chest, trying to block the noise out and the light.

"Sir, what happened?"

"No time to explain, just help her!"

"What's her name? Who is she?"

"I don't know much more than her name. I have no idea where she's from."

"Give me a name!"

"Maple, May Maple."

"Does she have any prior medical conditions? Known allergies-"

"I told you the first time you twit, I have no nothing more than her name!"

She felt herself being lowered on to a cold, soft, surface that felt good on her burning skin. But then warmth of his arms, the one thing holding her tight to life, began to disappear, and May panicked.

"No, no, no, what are you doing, stop! Don't go! Don't do this to me!"

She grabbed his arm as hard as she could, causing much pain to her aching body and she felt her heart beat faster and faster in fear.

He shook his arm and pulled, and her hand slid down it in her weakness until she caught a hold of his hand. It shook and trembled, but her hand was like a death grip on his.

"Let go Miss Maple!"

"NO!"

"You are delirious! Let go of me so they can help you!"

"Please, please don't let them take me away from you!"

And then she felt the Magma coat being pealed off her body and she grabbed a hold of the sleeve on her free hand and pulled away it away and kicked her legs, making contact with objects she couldn't make out other than white jackets. "Stop! Please! You can't take that from me, I won't let you!"

"Miss you are going to hurt yourself! You must stop moving!" An unfamiliar voice boomed in her ear. But fear roared and over took her, and she flailed about harder, hitting anything she could with her frail limbs.

She felt hands on her legs, on her arms, holding her down, and no matter how much she struggled she was too weak to swim and break to the surface.

She felt Maxie tug on his hand again and she pulled against him. "No, no, do not leave me, do not, _do not_." _Don't let me drown again, please please please. _

"May." A calm, soothing voice said in her ear, and she froze at it's sound. "Everything will be okay" She felt Maxie's other hand lay on top of hers, both of his warm, large hands wrapped around hers, and squeezed firmly. May felt her body tense, and then fall lax at his touch. "Trust me, and everything will be okay."

"You promise?" Her voice was small, like that of a frightened young child.

"Everything will be okay."

And with that, the grim expression on her face slacked, and her fingers let go of his without hesitation. She felt the prick of a needle on her arm and in her hand, a mask being placed on her face, fingers pulling at her clothes and touching her skin; the white jackets all around her. But his eyes never left hers, and she remained calm, even though they were growing more and more distant and she could barely see them anymore as the white jackets took her away. Their eyes never lost contact until she disappeared behind a pair of large swinging silver doors and the world went dark again.

* * *

><p>Exhaustion finally hit him, and he backed into the wall of the hallway, his back sliding down until he was down and curled down on his haunches. Maxie let out a sigh of relief, sliding his fingers through his crimson hair and cradling his head.<p>

"Sir?" A young nurse had approached him.

He stared up a at her for a moment, forgetting where he was, who he was, what he was doing…

And then he noticed his magma coat hanging from her arm. Charcoal and crimson; the colors of burning embers.

"A phone, bring me a phone. _Now_."

She nodded curtly, handing him the coat before turning away and down the hallway.

_Who are you? _

_I don't know._

_Yes you do. _

_I slightly remember a man, from long ago…_

_You resemble him. But you are too weak to be him._

_No, I am Maxie. I am, and will forever be, the strong leader of Team Magma._

_That's gone now, it's never coming back._

_Yes, this is true. But I will never stop being who I am._

_Then why are you here? Why have you come here? _

_I had to save her. _

_Why? Like you told the nurse, you know no more than her name._

_She lost her Pokemon._

_She destroyed your empire with them. _

_No. Archie brought chaos. I would have too if she hadn't have stopped me. She saved Hoenn from us, and we stole her innocence. _

_But…but why?_

_I don't know. I won't ever know. But for now,_ _she's at peace now, and so am I._

* * *

><p><em>"May, are you sure you don't want to think this over first?"<em>

_May Maple rolled her eyes. "Mom. I'm 18. I think I can handle myself on my own just fine."_

_"But are you sure this is the way to be doing this? Can't you just go to school? You can live in a dorm room, like all your little friends! Dad and I will handle the costs; we can buy you a new laptop, and bed sets, and books and everything you need! We could even go on a little shopping spree, just you and me! It would be so much fun!"_

_May smiled sadly. "I know that's what you want for me, Mom, and I know you mean best. But right now, I don't think I'm ready for that. _

_"Honey, I'm not sure…"_

_"Mom, I want to experience life."_

_"But May, that's what college is about! Growing up, living on your own, deciding what you want to be-"_

_"Mom, college is about living in a little room by yourself with a person you can't stand, eating crappy food from a cafeteria, and doing nothing but studying and reading and going to class all day. That's not life. That's just an extended version of high school, with no rules and no limits."_

_"I want to see how the world works…_

_"Dad did. He didn't go off to a fancy school. He traveled around and look at all those people he's met. And the experience…he's met so many pokemon, and trained so many of them…"_

_"May, dear, so many young people take Pokemon to college with them. The dorms are filled with them! This college not too far from here even has it's own training gym, and a Pokemon playground-"_

_"I…I don't care so much about the Pokemon, mom. I just want to know what it's like to be free."_

* * *

><p>Life goes on<br>It gets so heavy  
>The wheel breaks the butterfly<br>Every tear, a waterfall  
>In the night, the stormy night<br>She closed her eyes  
>In the night, the stormy night<br>Away she'd fly.

And dream of paradise.


End file.
